Beneath the Same Sky
by Crezhul
Summary: Things are not always what they seem. When Eri's dog goes missing, it takes the investigative skills of detective Todoroki and a ghost to find the pet. [TodoDeku Yaoi, Detective/Ghost AU]


**Beneath the Same Sky**

When the agency door swung open that Saturday morning, a ghost teleported in front of the children standing in the doorway.

"Welcome to the Todoroki Detective Agency!" Izuku smiled, greeting the girl and boy.

Passing through Izuku's form, the pair lumbered towards the young detective seated at a desk, closing a folder.

Shouto set his gaze on the children, their gloomy expressions clued him into the nature of their visit.

He stood up, echoing Izuku's greeting in a gentle tone. "Welcome to the Todoroki Detective Agency."

"Please have a seat and tell me how can I can help you?"

They sunk onto the sofa, with the white-haired girl curling and uncurling her fingers, clearly distressed.

"I can't find my dog, she—she ran away from home," cried the girl, desperation colouring her voice.

"I want you to help me find her!"

"We must help them, Shouto." Izuku hovered next to her, flailing his hands.

The boy in the hat stared at Shouto, awaiting the detective's decision.

"Leave it to me," Shouto held their gaze. He had all ready suspected that this case involved a loss of sorts.

"What are your names?" He asked the kids who leaned back on the couch now.

"I'm Kanroji Eri," said the long-haired girl.

Breaking his silence, the boy in the red cap leaned forward, giving his name. "My name is Izumi Kouta."

"Nice to meet you, Eri-chan, Kouta-kun." The yukata clad ghost pointed at himself. "I'm Midoriya Izuku."

With introductions out of the way, Shouto reached for his notepad, ready to kick start the investigation."What kind of dog is your pet?"

"She's a Shiba Inu, she's a black and tan, very friendly and her name's Kokoro," answered Eri.

"That's a nice name!" Izuku drifted past the bonsai plants decorating the office.

"Great name." Shouto nodded in agreement before following up with another question."When was the last time you saw her, Eri?"

"On Tuesday before I left for school. When I got back home, she wasn't there..."

Missing for 4 days. Shouto ran a finger over his jaw, mindful that most dogs would not survive another day without having access to food or water. "Do you know how she might've escaped?"

Eri averted her gaze, staring at the floor."She dug a hole under the fence and got away — I didn't know she was digging one."

Kouta frowned, putting a hand around her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Eri."

Furrowing his green brows, Izuku agreed with the boy. "Kouta-kun's right, it's not your fault Eri-chan."

"Dogs are playful creatures." Shouto reassured the girl who was beating herself over what she could not control. "It's within their nature to dig and explore."

Sniffling, Eri wiped at her eyes, considering everyone's words. "Okay."

"Do you have a recent picture of Kokoro?" Shouto asked.

"On my phone." Eri reached into her pocket, tapping at the screen before handing Shouto her phone.

"Hn." He studied the pretty dog that lay on a bed, it's glossy hair catching Shouto's eye.

Glancing over Shouto's shoulder, Izuku looked at the phone screen too. "Aww, cute pup."

"Can you send this to my phone?" Shouto returned the phone to Eri.

And after receiving the picture, Shouto followed up with additional questions before walking his clients to the door. "I'll call you as soon as I find anything."

Upon reaching the doorway, Eri stopped, turning around."Thank you for helping me, Todoroki-san."

"That's what we're here for." Izuku waved them off.

Diving into the case, Shouto rung up all the shelters and veterinarians in their area but no dogs matching Kokoro's description were brought in that week.

Moreover, calls to the auto repair shops or the traffic accident department proved similar as there were no reported vehicular accidents involving dogs, meaning Shouto and Izuku needed to go out into the field.

# # #

12 minutes into the car ride, Shouto sensed something was off.

Pop music played on the stereo as usual but his partner was not singing along to the catchy tunes, pointing out landmarks or discussing the case at hand with Shouto.

No, the ghost was staring out the car window, keeping silent.

Shouto had set up his detective agency in the building where a lonely Izuku haunted. Said ghost perked up upon realising that Shouto could see and touch him and engaged Shouto with centuries worth of questions, stories and conversation ever since. Therefore a silent Izuku unsettled Shouto.

"You're quiet."

Izuku's expression was filled with worry. "I was thinking about Eri-chan and Kokoro."

You worry more about the living than most humans. Shouto understood why, given how much loss and death Izuku witnessed over the centuries; the ghost wanted to preserve the happiness of the living.

Laying a warm hand on top of Izuku's chilly hand, Shouto tried to dispense comfort and hope with his words. "We're going to find out what happened to Kokoro."

"That's the first step in helping both of them."

"You're right." The ghost's lips curved, easing Shouto's heart.

# # #

"We're here." Shouto reached Eri's residence, pulling into the driveway of a bright two storey house, shaded by an oak tree.

"I'm off!' Izuku zipped through the windscreen, waving at Shouto before going off on his own investigation. "Good luck!"

"Good luck to you too," Shouto whispered, climbing out of the car.

Dog toys were strewn about the lawn and the verandah of Eri's residence. Sidestepping them, Shouto pressed the doorbell and waited.

Eri answered soon after, her face lighting up when she saw Shouto."Todoroki-san? Did you find Kokoro? Where is she?"

Shouto met her gaze, feeling more than a tad of regret at having to disappoint her. "Not yet."

"I want to take a look at the spot where Kokoro was digging, is that okay?"

Plastering a weak smile on her face, Erie stepped aside. "Sure, anything to find Kokoro."

"Are your parents at home?" Shouto inquired, looking about the comfortable home where the scent of incense lingered.

"No, mum's at work and dad is out of town, but Kouta is here."

At the mention of his name, Kouta stuck his head out, nodding at Shouto.

Following Eri into the kitchen, the detective spotted fresh dog food sitting in a bowl on the floor as if Eri had set it down with the expectations of Kokoro coming home that day.

"The hole's over there." Eri pointed to the wooden fence, refusing to go any closer, be it from lingering guilt or worry.

Approaching the area, Shouto crouched down, studying the pile of dirt and the paw marks. "Kokoro has been digging this for some time."

He cast a glance at the children eyeing him from the back door.

What's keeping you from coming back home? The detective pondered once more.

* * *

Moving on to the next stage of the investigation, Shouto went next door, hoping Eri's neighbour could shed light about Kokoro's whereabouts.

The television boomed in their house and by some miracle, someone inside heard Shouto knocking for a spiky-haired teen soon filled the doorway.

"Hi, I'm detective Todoroki Shouto from the Todoroki Detective Agency." Shouto flashed his detective license at the man.

Swallowing, the teen asked Shouto a question that Shouto heard all too often. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all." Shouto reached into his pocket, retrieving Kokoro's photo."I want to know if you've seen this dog before."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the teen glanced at the photo of Kokoro. "That looks like the dog Eri-chan's been walking lately."

"The dog is hers, it's currently missing."

Shrugging his slender shoulders, the teen murmured, "too bad."

Somehow Shouto doubted this man ever had a pet of his own. "When was the last time you saw the dog?"

"Uh around Monday when I came in from work, Eri and that brat in the hat was playing with it on the lawn."

That was a day before it went missing, Shouto creased his brows before handing his business card to the young man. "Please give me a call if you happen to see the dog".

Questioning neighbour after neighbour proved fruitless, no one saw Kokoro after she went missing, it almost seemed as if the pet vanished off the face of the earth.

Shouto was slipping a note into a mailbox when his neck tingled, alerting him to the presence of a nearby ghost.

Whirling around, Shouto found his partner floating next to him. He hoped Izuku would bring him good news."Did you find anything?"

"Nothing yet." Izuku shook his head.

Izuku was tasked with the trickier aspects of the case, so he spent the greater part of the day

entering houses and searching for suspicious mounds in backyards. "What about you?"

"No one saw Kokoro so far." Shouto scrubbed a hand across his own face in frustration.

"Time's still on our side, Shouto." Izuku rubbed a soothing circle across his partner's back."We'll find someone who saw her."

Relaxing at the touch, Shouto let out a sigh. "I still have one more neighbour to question."

"Let's go, I'll search every district if I have to after this."

The pair approached an older woman hunching over a bed of blooming lilies. Little did they know their encounter with her would turn their investigation upside down.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Shouto interrupted her gardening.

Setting her water can down, she faced the detective, giving him a once over. "How can I help you?"

"I'm detective Todoroki Shouto," said the detective, showing her his credentials.

"I'd like to know if you've seen this dog before? "Shouto produced the photo of the missing canine.

She studied it, her eyes widening in recognition. "Yes, with an old man."

"An old man?" Izuku repeated, raising his brows.

A wave of relief washed over Shouto. "Do you remember the last time you saw them together?"

Tilting her head, she paused for thought. "Perhaps last month, I haven't seen him recently."

"Would you mind describing the man please?" Shouto clutched his pen, managing to keep the hope that he felt from leaking into his voice.

"Portly, about 170 centimetres, with blue eyes and grey hair," she said before adding. "He seemed kind."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Shouto bowed, bidding the woman a pleasant day.

As soon as the woman turned her back, Izuku frowned, voicing his doubts. "There must be some mistake."

Shouto tugged at his tie. "That might be so but we still must follow the lead, it's the only one we have."

"But Eri-chan is not a thief." Izuku believed in their client.

Should that notion be untrue, it would explain why Kokoro escaped Eri's house, never trying to return to a place where she did not belong.

On the other hand, Shouto trusted his partner's judgement, it aligned with what Shouto believed.

"I don't think so either but..."

Understanding shone in Izuku's green eyes. "We'll have Eri explain herself first."

Thus Shouto and Izuku made their way to Eri's house for the second time that day and in a replay of the first visit, Eri gave Shouto the same hopeful look. "Did you find anything, Todoroki-san?"

Izuku gazed at her with concern. "We need to ask you something first."

Shouto opened his mouth to ask her about Kokoro's ownership when the shrine in the living room caught his eyes, stopping him cold.

Encouraging Eri with a slow nod instead, Shouto asked her a completely different question. He deduced Kokoro's whereabouts at long last.

* * *

"There it is." Izuku read the name plate on a red trimmed house, hope flickered within him, curling his fist.

Zipping inside, Izuku flitted about the sheet-covered home, searching for Kokoro in the darkness per Shouto's instructions.

He had scarcely passed through the living room wall when fierce barking startled him, fraying his nerves. Woof Woof!

Bringing a hand to his chest in relief, Izuku exhaled at the sight of the angry canine that glared at Izuku from its seat on the couch. Moreover, the dog was not alone.

"Pardon the intrusion, Sir." Izuku flashed an apology look at the other ghost in the room.

The elderly ghost slowly lifted his gaze to Izuku's. "You see me."

Nodding, Izuku suspected that he was the first ghost the old man encountered after dying.

As strange as it may seem, running into other ghosts could be rare and being bound to one's place of death lowered those odds considerably. "I'm dead too."

There was a pause in which the man digested the information before studying Izuku's yukata. "You're from the Edo Era."

"I am."

Floating towards the couch, Izuku changed the subject, gesturing to the Shiba Inu that growled at him. "Is this your dog?"

Turning worried eyes towards Kokoro, the man confirmed what Izuku all ready knew. "Yes she is, I've had her for 7 years now, raised her from a pup and all."

"A long time." Izuku said gently. "She must mean a lot to you."

"Kokoro does.'" The old man closed his eyes, his expression filled with pain as he spoke again.

"I know I'm the reason why she's here...if I could leave here for her sake I would."

"But you feel like you can't?" Izuku's' heart grew heavy for he knew better than anyone what regrets did to the dead, it kept them rooted to this plane, unable to find peace in the after life.

"Yes, son, I want for someone to look after her when I'm gone," admitted the old man, gazing down at the Shiba Inu.

"I understand how you feel but you don't have to worry about your pet any more," Izuku assured him in a soothing tone.

Before the old man could question Izuku, pattering footsteps drew his attention to the archway.

Bursting through the living room, Eri bounded over to the couch, with tears brimming in her eyes. "Kokoro, you're here!"

"Eri?" The old man's lip parted in surprise, he extended his arms out to embrace her but they passed through her.

"I'm sorry, I miss grandpa too, I'm sorry I didn't realise it before." She sobbed into the dog's fur.

Izuku watched the myriad of emotions play on the old man's face. "Eri-chan has been looking for Kokoro every day with her friend, Kouta over there."

"And when they couldn't find her, Eri-chan hired a detective to look for Kokoro."

Those words prompted the old man to glance at the newcomers standing in the archway, his eyes widened when Shouto nodded at him.

Winking at his partner, Izuku explained."Detective Todoroki can see us, he led us to Kokoro."

"I...see." The old man paused, appearing deep in thought. He bowed low to the detective and Izuku."Thank you for helping us."

Drifting over to the dog next, the old man stretched out a hand as if trying to pet Kokoro on the head for the last time. "Kokoro, please take care of Eri for me."

His eyes fell on his granddaughter who rubbed Kokoro behind the ears. He gave her a tender look."Farewell Eri...Kokoro."

With those words the old man's lips spread into a contented smile and he disappeared.

"Farewell," Izuku said.

An oblivious Eri hopped up and ran over to Shouto, wrapping her arms around him."Thank you for finding Kokoro, Todoroki-san, thank you, thank you!"

And to everyone's surprise, Kouta joined in on the hug, giving Shouto a warm smile. "Thank you."

Taken back, Shouto smiled at them, patting them both on the head. "I was doing my job."

Tears streamed down Izuku's face at the heart-warming sight, he wiped at them but they kept falling.

Noticing this, Shouto gave his car keys to Kouta and padded over to his partner."What's the matter, Izuku?"

A warm hand brushed the tears away and Izuku sniffled, confessing. "I'm just happy I could help everyone, I wasn't much use to anyone when I was alive."

Having been sickly and bedridden for most

his human years, Izuku missed out on a lot of life and felt like a burden to his parents who had cared for him.

Shouto traced the ball of his thumb across Izuku's cheek."I know you did the best you could have done at the time, just like you're doing now."

"You're the best partner anyone can ask for."

Izuku's breath hitched, his heart swelling at those words that confirmed his existence, proving that his life had a meaning. "So are you!"

The End

This was based on a prompt by Thinkwritten. The experimentation continues, thank you for reading!


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